We have a stunning collection of images in store for this weekend. I have been so excited over the last few days waiting to see what came in, and I was not let down. Each and every entry for this week’s challenge is unique and has an important history associated with it. Some are well known and some are not, but I don’t think that will make a difference. The biggest kick I get is to come across a new site and then go off and learn all about it. So thank you to everyone whom contributed to this week’s challenge. This is by far the biggest one to date, so keep them coming in, don’t be shy. If you have submitted an image before, you know the score. And for those of you who have not yet participated! DON’T BE SHY, I really want to hear from you. Check out the end of this post for details on how you can join in on the fun. As always the idea behind this challenge is to raise the awareness of people to the fact that our little world is filled with fantastic history and heritage, which is sadly forgotten about and ignored or destroyed. If you missed out on last week’s Challenge, you can check it out HERE.

Kilteel Castle dates back to the 15th century and was built on the site of an earlier monastery. Some of the ruins of which can still be seen. This was one of my first adventures in Ruinhunting. You can read all about its history HERE

I think that you will agree, we had a great bunch of submissions this week. I would love be able to include a bit of history on each and every one of them, but I don’t think I would have the space to do so. Many of the contributors will have this included on their own blog, so if any or all of the sites this week appeal to you, please feel free to drop a line in the comments section below. Or even better yet, click on the link located underneath each image and check out what they are up too. Im sure that they would be only too happy to hear from you and answer any questions you might have.

So here is how you too, can join in;

The plan is quite simple, each Wednesday I will be posting an image of a random site with a heritage connection. Any images sent in will be included in the challenge along with your name and a link to your site. Full credit is given to each participant. The joy of this challenge is that we can all participate and share our images whilst raising the awareness of our own particular History and Heritage. The image can be anything from an old Church or Castle, to a Battlefield or Neolithic tomb, the choices are endless. And you can capture the image on any device you choose to. It can be in colour, black and white or any variation. The important thing is that we share.

And so to make sure that the challenge runs smoothly here are a few notes on how to participate:

All images must have been taking by you, there is no time restriction on this and you retain the copyright for your images

Images should be submitted via email by no later than midnight GMT on the Sunday before so I can ensure the challenge is ready to be posted on the Wednesday morning. My email address is edmooneyphotography@gmail.com

You don’t have to even have to be a WordPress blogger. This challenge is open to everyone, please include your name and a link back to your blog, website or social media page.

Images should be kept at low resolution with the largest side at 1000 pixels or less, if you need help with this you can pm me.

Once the challenge is published I will delete all files and mails from that week .

Each contributor should write a small piece about their image on their blog, for readers to check out, or at least the history behind the shot by adding to the comments of each challenge.

Fingers crossed we will have some more fantastic Images, History and Heritage to share with you next Wednesday.

Why, thank you kindly! I am not a natural photographer and I think this is just a case of being in the right place at the right time, or perhaps a broken clock being right twice a day! Weather conditions that can spoil a holiday are sometimes ideal for photographing a spooky old ruin. We spent a day in Scarborough as well but the weather was far from fair and to this day I have no idea what the place looks like …

LOL, well either way it was a cracking image with some great history. Quite a few people were really interested in it.
Thanks again for sharing it and please feel free to submit to the challenge whenever you like 🙂

I just thought I would let you all know that Irish ruin hunter/photographer Ed Mooney has one of the video stills from my film Girl Eating An Airplane (1999) up on his blog as part of his “Capturing History” Challenge. It is an image of Ikuta JInja’s Main Gate.

Ikuta Jinja is a Shinto shrine located in Kobe, Japan, just a couple of block north of the Sannomiya Train Station. It is considered by the resident priests and lay followers to be the winter home of Amaterasu O-mikami, the Sun Goddess. I spent three years studying traditional court music (gagaku/kagura) at Ikuta, and also had the opportunity to participate in some of the rituals, a rare privilege for a foreigner.

The image is taken from Girl Eating An Airplane, a film with which I performed live improvised musical accompaniment to, touring around the Kansai Area (Western Japan). It is a video still of Ikuta’s main gate, captured from inside the shrine, looking south towards the Bay of Osaka. It was taken on an old VHS camcorder then run through a digital postcard maker in order to capture the grainy/hazy look of videotape while adding a slightly pixelated look. I purposely did this to try and capture not so much the image of the gate, but to try and capture the “quality” of aging memory, colors fading and forms dissolving in the mind with the passage of time, and an accompanying melancholy of ‘losing’ the image as the years pass. Thus it is grainy and hazy on purpose.

History can be engaging, but when it is personal it takes on emotional form(s). Where others see an interesting looking Shinto gate, I see my feelings captured in the haze of old video footage. I see my own gratitude for having experience Ikuta personally, as well as the “loss” of never being able to go back to those days, forever lost in time but captured briefly in a gauzy still… the fog of aging memory.

As long as we get the word out, I hope it will inspire people to submit… especially people with no training, as this challenge is to bring everyone together over history, not just the beauty or perfection of the photos themselves. Even a picture of what is rather common locally can be exotic to those who have never been to the area. Thus what is a rather ordinary sight in Japan (Shinto shrines) becomes something amazing to those far away.

Well said Dan, much of what we take for granted as we have become accustomed too is a gem for others, like the old phrase ‘One mans thrash is another mans gold’. Not that I am saying that any of these fantastic peices of history are thrash, if you get what I mean?
For many, we may never get a chance to experience some of these special places, but I hope that we can at least give people a glimpse of wat is out there 🙂

Wow, so many beautiful photographs and intriguing places. Great job everyone. I love this challenge, it’s so inspiring!! Favourite of all the pics this week is the Whitby entry it’s so atmospheric, would make a great book cover! Can’t wait to see what appears 🙂

Great stuff Eddie; I’m impressed by the range. I love the Lhasa image especially – a place of dreams, methinks. Now to go and rummage in the photo collection and out do the brother (competitive, me?)!!

Ah thanks Jane, the west coast of Ireland is full of stunning places such as the Skelligs. Afraid Im in the same boat as you, my camera is on its last legs im afraid, might not make it through the winter, lol.

LOL, thats a bit cheeky isnt it??? 🙂
I have a little point and shot and my camera phone to keep me going in emergencies, there is always hope that it can be repaired aafter I recover from the cost of sending the kids back to school.
If not I shall be writing a very nice letter to ould st. Nick 🙂